Phone Savings Lie In Habits Of Caller

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to whether MCI or Sprint can save you money over AT&T. It depends on your dialing habits.

But a comparison of hypothetical phone bills shows prices aren`t all the same.

The Sun-Sentinel asked the major long-distance carriers to give us their best package deals on two sets of imaginary calls. Five were placed from West Palm Beach, five from Fort Lauderdale.

We asked the companies to assume the conversations took place over the weekend, so bargain rates would apply.

The calls were to Chicago for 30 minutes; New York City for 25 minutes; San Francisco for 20 minutes; Raleigh, N.C., for 15 minutes; and Toronto, Canada, for 10 minutes.

Here`s the bottom line from each company, including the additional monthly cost of any discount plans used:

-- AT&T -- $14.27 from Fort Lauderdale; $13.98 from West Palm Beach.

-- Sprint -- $12.75 from both cities.

-- MCI -- $10.85 from Fort Lauderdale; $10.55 from West Palm Beach.

The MCI figures are about 24 percent lower than AT&T -- same calls, same times.

But don`t assume everyone can get the same savings with MCI. Their bill used two discounts: Super Saver, which gives an hour of interstate calls on Saturdays for $5 a month, and Friends & Family.

Consumers get the 20 percent Friends & Family discount only if they phone other MCI customers in their 20-member network.

The prices from Sprint and AT&T also depended on special programs.

Sprint used Sprint Select Florida, which provides an hour of in-state and out-of-state calls during weekends and nights for $7.50 a month. AT&T came up with its bill under the basic Reach Out America plan, which costs $7.15 a month for one hour of interstate calls during nights and weekends.

Complicated enough to confuse anyone.

But worth the trouble, perhaps, if you can find the perfect match of conditions and calls.

MCI spokeswoman Nancy Murphy sums it up: ``You want to save money. Whoever you can save the most with is who you should go with.``

DIALING FOR DOLLARS

The Big Three long-distance telephone companies offer a variety of calling plans. Consumer experts advise people who spend more than $10 a month in long-distance calls to carefully check the various offers against individual dialing habits. These are some of the basic calling programs:

AT&T

-- REACH OUT AMERICA: One-time $5 sign-up fee. For $7.15 a month customers get one hour of interstate, direct-dialed calls. Additional time is pro-rated at $6.60 an hour. May call on Saturday, Sunday until 5 p.m., and Sunday through Friday, 10 p.m.-8 a.m. Five percent off international and in-state calls.

-- SELECTSAVER: One-time $5 sign-up fee. For $1.90 a month, customers get discounts on all calls made to a selected out-of-state area code. Calls are prorated at $7.20 an hour on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday through Friday, 5 p.m.-8 a.m. During other times, calls are prorated at $12 an hour.

-- CUSTOMER SERVICE: 1-800-222-0300.

MCI

-- PRIMETIME: No sign-up fee. For $7.95 a month, subscribers get one hour of interstate, direct-dialed calls. Additional time is prorated at $6.60 an hour. May call on Saturday and on Sunday until 5 p.m. and after 11 p.m. until 8 a.m. Monday, and Monday through Friday, 5 p.m.-8 a.m. Ten percent off calls made during other times.

-- FRIENDS & FAMILY: No sign-up fee, no monthly charge. Callers specify up to 20 other MCI customers around the country and get 20 percent off all charges to those numbers.

-- CUSTOMER SERVICE: 1-800-444-3333.

SPRINT

-- SPRINT SELECT FLORIDA: No sign-up fee. For $7.50 a month subscribers get one hour of in-state and/or interstate, direct-dialed calls. Additional time is prorated at $6.50 an hour. May call on Saturday and Sunday, and between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. weekdays.

-- SPRINT PLUS: No sign-up fee, no monthly charge. Automatic 20 percent off interstate calls on Saturday and Sunday and between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. weekdays. Ten percent off calls during other times. To qualify for the discount, customers must spend $20 a month or more on long-distance calls. With higher use, discounts increase up to 30 percent.